BOSTON – Less than a week away from first pitch of the 2020 campaign, Suffolk baseball head coach Anthony Del Prete has announced that the threesome of Tim Brigham, Parker Browne and Rich Gilbride with share leadership responsibilities as tri-captains.
The triad is the third consecutive group to lead the Rams taking over for Charles Batchelder, Trevor Lee and Kevin Sinatra, who shared the captain's role a year ago.
"We're excited to have Tim (Brigham), Rich (Gilbride) and Parker (Browne) elected as our team captains for the 2020 season," Del Prete said. "Each of these three bring separate qualities in terms of leadership that they carry with them each day both on and off the field. Overall, we feel like we have a very strong character group with this team as many as our players bring a strong set of intangible skills with them each day. Throughout the year this team has shown a strong sense of chemistry and a solid work ethic, which has been led by our three captains."
The Rams 2020 captains, which hail from the junior, senior and post-graduate class, represent the pitching staff in Browne, outfield in Brigham and middle field in Gilbride.
Brigham is back in blue-and-gold for his final collegiate campaign. He made his presence known on the diamond a year ago when he put together a slash line of .390/.428/.597 with 60 hits including 26 extra-base knocks, 23 of which were doubles, a Rams' single-season record. For his efforts at the plate he had the most decorated bat with three honors including a pair of all-region nods from the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association and D3Baseball.com, respectively.
Browne is back on the bump for his junior year. Last season, he assembled a 2.51 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched over 13 appearances. He assembled a 3-1 record with a pair of saves and fanned 25 hitters. This year, the righty looks to be a critical arm in the starting rotation.
Since transferring from Sienna, Gilbride has been a staple at shortstop for the Rams. The two-time all-league selection has had one of the most consistent bats in Suffolk's lineup with the lead-off hitter knocking 73 hits over two seasons to bring in 37 runs with a .266 career batting average. His stealth on the bags has paid off for Rams base runners as well with 24 stolen bases, 14 of which came a year ago. In his senior season, Gilbride will add depth to the pitching staff as well.
Led by its captains, Suffolk throws the first pitch of its 2020 season Monday, March 2 when it ventures to No. 14 UMass Boston. The Beantown battle is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. at Monan Park.